The Revival of Night Train Travel and Launching a European Sleeper Train Startup with Thibault Constant

Zero To Travel Podcast

Jason Moore

Society & Culture, Business, Entrepreneurship, Places & Travel

4.6 • 866 Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is night train travel making a comeback? Trains have long been seen as a romantic or nostalgic way to explore a destination, but what if it could also be the most practical, comfortable, and climate-friendly way? Thibault Constant is a French train enthusiast turned entrepreneur who built a following of 300k on his YouTube channel, Simply Railways. He’s the author of Trains de Nuit and co-founder of Nox, a new sleeper train company aiming to revolutionize overnight travel across Europe with affordable private rooms. In this episode, host Paige McClanahan speaks with Thibault about the rising demand for night trains in Europe, the design and mission behind his upcoming sleeper train company, and why privacy, practicality, and sustainability are reshaping how we move through the world. You’ll hear why a new wave of travelers are choosing overnight rail, how the travel experience shifts when you’re able to rest, reflect, and arrive ready to go, and what it takes to build a better sleeper train from the ground up. Thibault shares the key barriers that have kept night trains from breaking through in recent decades, and how his company, Nox, is working to overcome them with smart design and realistic pricing. Whether you’re curious about slow travel, concerned about flying’s climate impact, or just want to know what it’s like to wake up in Sicily after sleeping on a train ferry, this episode offers both practical insights and pure travel inspiration. If you could take one of Thibault’s recommended overnight train journeys tomorrow, which would you choose and why? We’d love to hear your thoughts, and hope you’ll share by sending an audio message. Tune In To Learn: How growing up in northern France inspired Thibault’s lifelong love of trains Why he started his YouTube channel, and how it became a full-time job What led him to co-found Nox, a new sleeper train company launching in 2027 Why most night trains today fail to deliver on sleep, and how privacy changes everything The real reason night trains declined in Europe, and what brought them back How the climate crisis is pushing more travelers to rethink short-haul flights What makes overnight train travel a win–win for comfort, convenience, and carbon Thibault’s top 3 night train routes in Europe, and his favorite long-haul ride in North America And so much more Resources: Sign up for our FREE newsletter Paige McClanahan’s website Paige on Instagram Thibault on Instagram Simply Railway YouTube Trains de Nuit Nox Sleeper Trains Want More? Sustainable Travel 101 (How to Be A Better Traveler) With Richard Hammond Train Travel Around The World w/ Mark Smith World Tour for Climate Change: Hitchhiking, Biking, and Low-Carbon Travel With Megan Routbort Thanks To Our Sponsors Holafly⁠ - Get 10% off your annual Holafly eSIM with code “ZEROTOTRAVEL” Moon Travel Guides - Use code ‘ZERO’ for 20% off your order. Turkish Airlines Series - Listen to the podcast on Apple and Spotify Planet Visionaries - Listen to the podcast on Apple and Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Jason here with zero to travel.com.
0:04.0	A quick but exciting announcement, a huge announcement, a big change to the show that you are going to love.
0:11.0	After almost a thousand inspiring conversations with travelers from all walks of life,
0:16.4	we're evolving the podcast into something even bigger.
0:20.7	Now, zero to travel was never meant to be about one host, about me.
0:25.6	It was about you, the listener, the listening community, the conversations, the shared curiosity that brings us travelers together.
0:34.7	And with that in mind, I've always worked to build a community-powered show here.
0:42.0	And the community-powered version of Zero to Travel that you're going to hear in the coming
0:47.7	months slash years includes a rotating, highly curated group of expert co-hosts who can bring their
0:58.1	spark, their unique travel ends. They're one-of-a-kind experiences to conversations here on the show.
1:06.2	I have had guest hosts here before, but this is a more permanent thing, the host collective.
1:12.3	So again, you're going to be meeting some of these new members of the host collective in the coming months.
1:19.5	And we've got an episode from one of them today, Paige McClanahan, whose work I highly respect.
1:26.0	She has lived outside of her native country, the United States, over the last 17 years in
1:31.8	Switzerland, Sierra Leone, the UK, Kenya.
1:34.3	Now she lives in France.
1:35.5	She was a New York Times travel journalist, and she's an author.
1:40.5	She published the book called The New Tourist.
1:42.4	You've heard her on the show before, if you've been listening for a while.
1:45.5	And she's just got, well, a certain je ne se quo, as they would say in France, where she lives right now.
1:53.8	She's so insightful as an interviewer and a journalist and a commentator.
1:58.7	I really respect her work, and I value value her opinion and she writes and speaks a lot
	...

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